But devices based on the ARM processor don’t run Windows XP, Windows 7 or Vista, unlike netbooks based on Intel’s Atom processor. Meanwhile, Freescale is showing customers a prototype app store for Linux that aggregates as many as 6,000 Linux applications and tools. The company expects OEMs will develop their own online app stories for smartbooks just as Apple has done for the iPhone.

Trilliant has used cellular data in the past for their smart meter technology, but Wi-Fi mesh, enabled by firms like SkyPilot, may provide an inexpensive alternative, enabling Trilliant to package an end-to-end, turnkey network solution for utilities.

Trilliant can afford it, says Katie Fehrenbacher of GigaOm, having recently raised at least $40 million from an affiliate of MissionPoint Capital Partners and Zouk Ventures. Trilliant merged operations with OZZ Energy Services in 2007, and built its company on the acquisition of Nertec, an automated metering veteran founded in 1985.

Trilliant’s senior vice president of solutions, Eric Miller, told GigOM’s Katie Fehrenbacher that he thinks utilities are increasingly looking for private, dedicated networks for smart grid backhaul that can be owned and more easily controlled by the utility.

If a utility is using a network like cellular for backhaul, there’s always the concern that other users could clog the network and impact a critical signal, says Trilliant.

Skypilot uses plain old vanilla 802.11b/g wifi to connect to homes, but their backhaul technology incorporates a proprietary polling protocol that works much like Karlnet (now WORP). Wireless Outdoor Router Protocol allocates network capacity by assigning brief time slots to all the users who want to send and receive data and giving each a turn to use the bandwidth. WiMAX uses a similar technique.

The SkyPilot 5 GHz bandhaul section can automatically switch between multiple 18db internal antennas inside the top dome. That gave SkyPilot a boost in 5 GHz backhaul range for mesh networking, lowering backhaul costs. SkyPilot also cut costs by eliminating battery backup. Companies like MetroFi persuaded investors that the SkyPilot solution could deliver reliable service using only around 25 of the $1,800 access points per square mile.

It was not enough. The noise floor of unlicensed 2.4 GHz grew with the popularity of personal hotspots. It soon required something like 40 municipal nodes per square mile for reliable Wi-Fi access. The “free” ad-supported business model was killed off as costs ballooned over $65,000 per sq mi.

Tim Smith, who handles PR for Trilliant, tells Dailywireless that the original cost per square mile that MetroFi assumed actually works out for utility applications, since it doesn’t need to provide coverage to every square foot of ground. He said that difference is why SkyPilot makes sense in the utility market and why it’s cheaper than WiMAX or other Wi-Fi options.

President Obama has called for the installation of 40 million smart meters and 3,000 miles of transmission lines. Two-way connected smart meters installed in homes will utilize wireless sensor networks to see how much and where energy is being consumed. Homeowners will be able to see how much energy they’ve consumed and adjust their consumption habits accordingly. The smart grid market is set to grow by more than 20 percent — to a $17 billion U.S. market and a $171 billion global market — in the next five years, say industry analysts.

Android will continue to be open-source. Manufacturers have the option of installing Android “obligation-free” onto their devices or sign a distribution agreement with Google will allow them to pre-install Google Apps onto their devices. A third option, called the “Google Experience,” opens up the manufacturer’s devices to Google Apps and the Android Market.

Strategy Analytics forecast global Android smartphone shipments to grow 900 percent annually during 2009. Analysts have previously suggested that Android, which originally rolled out in August 2008, will be running on about 12 percent of global smartphones by 2012.

The Pre gains iTunes compatibility by telling the desktop app that it is an iPhone that doesn’t understand Apple’s copy-protection. This allows the Pre to download content that isn’t copy protected, including iTunes Plus and music that users have uploaded themselves.

Sprints Palm Pre goes on sale nationwide June 6 for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

Posted by
Sam Churchill
on
May 29th, 2009

The screens offer two different modes, a backlit mode with full color saturation, and an ePaper mode that doesn’t require a backlight. The ePaper mode is much easier to read outdoors than most computer displays and uses less energy.

The picture above shows a 10″ screen that’s been hacked to fit onto an Acer Aspire One laptop in ePaper mode outdoors. The screens will cost a little more than conventional LCD screens at first, but costs will go down as production volume picks up, said Mary Lou Jepsen, CEO.

It will show off engineering samples of its first screen product at Computex Taipei 2009 and may appear in low cost ultraportable computers like the OLPC XO Laptop. The screens could be in netbooks and on store shelves by the end of this year, says Pixel.

Posted by
Sam Churchill
on
May 27th, 2009

Dubbed 911 Assist, the program was first announced in 2008 but is now appearing on brand new Ford vehicles equipped with Sync. The program uses a Bluetooth-enabled phone to automatically dial 911 after an airbag deployment or fuel shutoff. Should the driver be unable to communicate, 911 Assist automatically plays a recorded message that tells the emergency operator a crash has occured.

While it sounds like an efficient system, it’s missing a few key ingredients of OnStar such as GPS location and advanced crash recognition. We also doubt the commercials could be as dramatic as OnStar’s, whose crash-scene replays are the stuff of nightmares.

Ford is positioning 911 Assist as a direct competitor to OnStar and similar systems. It’s not a bad option for those who would rather a Lincoln than a Cadillac, don’t want to pay the $18.95 monthly fee for OnStar service, or are afraid of potential privacy intrusions.

If your phone doesn’t have built-in GPS, emergency responders will have to rely on the not-always-accurate strategy of cell phone signal triangulation to locate your Mercury Milan and the tree it’s wrapped around. With 911 Assist, you’re also out of luck if the airbags don’t go off or if the fuel shutoff doesn’t work. OnStar’s Advanced Automatic Crash Response, for example, can tell when any crash has occured.

All 2010 Ford vehicles will offer Sync as an option, but not all existing Sync-equipped Fords have 911 Assist. Ford says that owners of any 2008 or early-2009 vehicle without the 911 Assist should be eligible for an upgrade, though installation fees may apply.